S/PV.3183 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Rwanda, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council's agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with t-he relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Munvampeta (Rwanda) took a place at the Council table.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in response to the requests contained In letters dated 4 March 1993 addressed to the President of the Security Council from the Charg6 d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations, document S/25363, and the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, document S/25371. Members of the Council have before them document S/25400, which contains the text of a draft resolution prepared in the course of the Council's prior consultations, I should like to draw the attention of the Council to the following documents: S/25355, letter dated 28 February 1993 from the Permanent . Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security CounciltW25356, letter dated 22 February 1993 from the Permanent Representative of Uganda to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council: and S/25385, note verbale dated 8 March 1993 from the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General. Members of the Council have received photocopies of a letter dated 10 March 1993 from the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, which will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/25401. The first speaker on my list is the representative of Rwanda, on whom I now call. Mr. MUNYAMPETA (Rwanda) (interpretation from French): I first congratulate you, Sir, on having assumed your lofty post and responsibilities. I also congratulate Ambassador Snoussi of Morocco, who SO ably discharged those responsibilities last month. May I also, on behalf of the Government and people of Rwanda, thank yOUl Sir, and the other members of the Council for allowing the delegation of Rwanda to speak in this august body. (The President) , From 1 October 1990 to the present, the Government and the people of Rwanda have been the victims of a particularly atrocious war, one that jeopardizes peace and security in the African Great Lakes region. Despite the tireless efforts for peace made by the Rwandese Government, with the assistance of the States of the subregion and the Organization of African Unity, the war is still on, causing enormous human and material losses. National and world opinion placed their hopes for peace in the negotiation process in Arusha, Tanzania, between the Rwandese Government and the Rwandese Patriotic Front; but we must now deplore the resumption of hostilities that began on the night of 7 and 8 February. Many civilians are still being killed and others mutilated, not to speak of the thousands who have been displaced and are haunted by the sprectre of death. National and international public opinion are gravely concerned by the 1 million who have been displaced. Please allow me to offer - if only briefly - a few examples of the atrocities committed that exacerbate the situation: caliing farmers to a meeting before massacring them with machine-gun fire; shutting up scores of people in a house before killing them with grenades or explosives; disembowelling women and old people; shootings in displaced-persons camps; dismemberment, gouging out of eyes and cutting off of breasts; binding people hand and foot; and so on. The Rwandese Government proposes to relocate those war refugees, estimated at a million, as mentioned above, in a neutral demilitarized zone. But if responsibility for the comprehensive care of those war refugees rests with the Rwandese Government, the same cannot be said for guaranteeing their safety, because of lack of human and material means. For this reason it is e humanitarian imperative that Rwanda be provided with a multi-purpose international force. This would assure the safety of the war refugees while also guaranteeing keeping the cease-fire. Here and now, the Government and the people of Rwanda offer their deepest gratitude to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the members of the Security Council for t,le benevolent solicitude they have accorded Rwanda's request. In their hands are the fate and future of a nation in full-blown, pluralistic democracy, observing strict respect for human rights and the demands of the structural adjustment plan. May the Rwandese nation's distress and its call for help be worthy of the compassion of the Security Council, the last hope for the triumph of reason over the arguments of the gun, Rwanda's hope lies in the draft resolution that the Security Council is about to adopt. Democracy at gunpoint has never been seen to come about. Democracy at gunpoint, democracy for a privileged few, defies the noble ideas of the Charter of the United Nations, whose cornerstone and foundation are made of peace, security and development of humanity in solidarity.

I thank the representative of Rwanda for his kind words. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that that is the case. There being no objection, it is so decided. Before putting the draft resolution to the vote, I shall call on those members of the Council who wish to make a statement before the Voting- should like, first of all to perform the pleasant duty of offering you, Mr. President, the congratulations of the delegation Of the Kingdom of Morocco on your assumption of the presidency of the Council. We have the fullest confidence in your diplomatic abilities and your human qualities, and therefore your ability to direct. the important and Certainly challenging work of the Council. We should thus like to assure you of all our support and cooperation. The resumption of fighting since 8 February of this year in Rwanda, where civil war has raged for more than two yearsl is a subject of great concern for my delegation, and even more so since the hostilities have already resulted in intolerable human, social and economic consequences. My delegation has reason to be concerned over tragic developments that could lead to a greater deterioration of the situation in that country, as we remember all too well the past and present horrors experienced by the people of the brotherly country of Somalia, For this reason, I should like to offer the Secretary-General my delegation's gratitude for the swiftness with which he dispatched a goodwill mission to the region to look into the situation $n situ; and we also offer him our thanks for the preliminary report on the latest developments in that strife-torn country. Humanitarian organizations operating in Rwanda have drawn up an alarming balance sheet of the humanitarian situation prevailing in that country. According to their estimates, more than a million people have been displaced and more than one seventh of the population is without shelter. As a result Of tribal massacres and the complete lack of security in the northern part Of the country, which have resulted in the flight of the civilian population from combat zones, the number of displaced persons is growing every day. My delegation is pleased at the result of the negotiations that took place in Dar-es-Salaam between the Xigali Government and the Rwandese Patriotic Front, which on 7 March 1998 resulted in an agreement on the modalities of the cease-fire which came into force on 9 March and the fate of displaced persons. This is, no doubt, a clear achievement on the way to a political solution to the Rwandese conflict. Hence we hope that the negotiations scheduled for next week in Arusha will produce positive results satisfactory to both parties. My delegation supports this process and ardently hopes that it will make it possible to resolve the questions still pending and lead to a comprehensive peace agreement as quickly as possible. My country, then, cannot but be pleased at the spirit of cooperation that has prevailed in the Council for the purpose of achieving a consensus on. the content of this resolution, which takes account of efforts made at the regional level and responds to the provisions of Chapter VI of the Charter Of our Organization. My delegation, having taken an active part in the preparation of the text, will therefore vote in favour of it in the hope that the parties will comply with its provisions in good faith, for the good of their people and the future of their country.

I thank the representative of Morocco for his kind words. Mr, DORANI (Djibouti) (interpretation from French): I should like first to join preceding speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your accession to the presidency of the Security Council. I wish to thank your predecessor, Ambassador Snoussi of Morocco on the excellent work he did in the Security Council last month and the remarkable way in which he presided over our meetings. The deterioration of the situation in 'Rwanda is a threat to the peace and security of the region. That is why we supported the various requests for an immediate meeting of the Security Council to examine the means that could ensure, first and foremost, the cessation of fighting, thereby sparing that fraternal country further sorrow and suffering. The spectre of Somalia still haunts our minds. Each time a conflict ends in Africa and achieves its initial solution through the beginning of dialogue, and therefore through understanding and tolerance, the delegation of Djibouti cannot but rejoice at this triumph: the triumph of frank, sincere and wise words over aggression and hatred - indeed, the triumph over weapons and, so to speak, the animal instinct. The agreement recently concluded in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, between the Government of Rwanda and the Patriotic Front, followed today by the adoption of the draft resolution before us, which seeks the strengthening of peace in Rwanda through the dispatch of an international force, demonstrates to the international community that the African States want no more of these wars - these wars that too often are imposed by internecine quarrels emanating above all from persons motivated by selfishness and che:uvinism. As the President of our Republic, El Hadj Hassan Ghouled Aptidon, said so rightly in September last before the African Group in New York: "It is true that the large amount of energy - whether in Africa or elsewhere - generated from national sentiments can be the best or the worst of things. When national sentiment degenerates inta nationalism - that is, into a form of collective selfishness - and liberates a devastating force, as history and the events of the present day in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina have so well and so tragically demonstrated, I am deeply convinced that we Africans, like the Europeans or the European Community, could not only transcend national sentiments but also exorcise nationalistic demons thanks to a policy of integration in many areas." The delegation of my country welcomes the dispatch by the Secretary-General of a good-offices mission to Rwanda. We also welcome the role played by the Organization of African Unity in the settlement Of Conflicts in Africa, particularly in Rwanda, through the dispatch of observers. We express the wish that, in the implementation of this agreement - without, we hope, any obstacles - the Republic of Rwanda will regain the Civil peace desired so much by its people and its Government. I Cannot conclude my statement without expreszing my delegation's gratitude to France, which, through its initiative, contributed - in Close Cooperation with the Organization of African Unity, the African members Of the Security Council, and indeed the caucus of non-aligned countries in the Council - to the preparation of a balanced text, which has gained the support of all the members .of the Council.

I thank the representative of Djibouti for the kind words he addressed to me, I shall no& put to the vote the'draft resolution in document S/25400. A vote was taken bv show of hands In favour: Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Djibouti, France, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has therefore been adopted unanimously as resolution 812 (1993). I shall now call on those representatives who have expressed the wish to make statements after the voting. Mr. LADSOUS (France) (interpretation from French): Although there had been progress recently towards a political settlement of the conflict affecting Rwanda, the situation in that country once again greatly deteriorated because of the resumption of hostilities at the beginning of February. Since then, the continued fighting and the resulting further loss of life and material damage have seriously compromised that country's chances quickly to regain the path of peace and democracy and are gravely threatening the political stability of the region. If this situation continues, it could cause a very serious humanitarian crisis in Rwanda - indeed, already the number of refugees and displaced persons resulting from the conflict is over l'million. It could also, as a consequence, engender an explosion that would certainly affect the neighbouring countries. Faced with all those risks, the French Government felt that resolute action had to be taken to reach an effective and lasting cessation of the hostilities, to promote the intensification of humanitarian assistance actions hostilities, to promote the intensification of humanitarian-assistance actions for the benefit of the civilian population, and to enable the peace efforts to continue. In this regard, we reiterate our full support for the process begun in Arusha, under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity, by the Government of Rwanda and the Rwandese Patriotic Front, as well as for the various agreements resulting from this process. France, which is present, with several other countries, as an observer at the Atusha negotiation, intends to continue to participate actively in the process. But it should be emphasized that the chances of progress depend above all on the cooperation of the Rwandese parties. In this connection, the Government of Prance notes with satisfaction that those parties have not yet renounced dialogue, as is shown by the meeting held in Dar-es-Salaam from 5'to'7 March between the Government of Rwanda and the Rwandese Patriotic Front. Hence, it calls on the two parties to start implementing all the commitments they have undertaken, particularly those relating to the cessation Of hostilities, which has been in effect since 9 March. At the same time, we believe that the efforts by Rwandese to settle the conflict should be actively supported by the United Nations. That is, after all, the condition for their success. In that spirit, the French Government supported the request to convene the Security Council submitted by the Rwaadese authorities. And it was also in that spirit that my country worked in close consultation with all the delegations concerned - particularly those of the African countries - in the preparation of the draft resolution that has just been adopted unanimously. In that text the Council invites the Secretary-General to examine urgently in consultation with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) the contribution that the United Nations could bring ta strengthening the peace process. This text is fully consistent with the approach of supporting the efforts of regional organisations that has guided our Council in several other cases. The French Government welcomes the particular reference in the resolution to the possibility of a United Nations contribution in the fields of protection of the civilian population and respect for the cease-fire - if necessary, by the establishment of an international force. Those seem to US, indeed, to be the two areas for priority intervention, which should be stressed in order effectively to support the efforts to achieve a political settlement and, at the same time, to alleviate the suffering of the civilian populations. In this respect, France remains concerned over the violations of human rights committed by the two parties. Similarly, it seems to us that the deployment of United Nations observers at the border between Rwanda and Uganda, as requested by those two countries, could contribute to creating a more peaceful climate in the region. Hence, we await with keen interest the recommendations that the Sectretary-General will submit to the Council on all these questions, on the basis particularly of the conclusions of the good-offices mission that he has been good enough to dispatch to the region, In conclusion, please allow me to repeat how urgent it is to ensure that the combined energies of all concerned - the United Nations, the regional organiaations and those of States and non-governmental organizations - be brought to bear to prevent in time the very serious risks to Rwanda and the entire region and to restore stability to this country. Faced with this urgent need, the Security Council could not but take action, and we are pleased that in adopting this resolution unanimously, it has shown its determination to help Rwanda and its population, Mr. SARDENBERG (Brazil): Brazil has supported resolution 812 (1993) in the firm belief that it will contribute to a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Rwanda by the parties concerned, within the framework of the Arusha peace process. In this regard, Brazil pays tribute to the Qrganization of African Unity (OAU), as well as to the countries in the region, for their efforts in promoting a negotiated political solution between the parties to the conflict. It is now incumbent on the United Nations to examine, in close consultation with the OAU, how best our Organization can support these efforts with a view to strengthening the peace process in Rwanda, in particular through the possible establishment of an international force under the aegis Of the OAU and the United Nations, in accordance with the agreement reached by the parties. The responsibility for the achievement of a satisfactory settlement of all aspects of the conflict rests upon the parties themselves. The OAU and the Countries in the region have an important role in facilitating and furthering the attainment of this goal. As provided in Article 52, paragraph 3 of the United Nations Charter: "The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies either on the initiative of the states concerned or by reference from the Security Council." A close cooperation between the United Nations and the OAU in the present situation in Rwanda, with due cognizance and respect for their respective roles, constitutes a good example of the constructive relationship that should exist between this universal body and regional organisations for the promotion of peace. It is the view of the Brazilian delegation that the terms of resolution 812 (1993), which we have just adopted, should be read by all parties concerned under that light.

There are no further speakers. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The meetina rose at 7 o.m. (Mr, Sardenbercr, Brazil)